Yankees Rally Past Bisons

(bisons.com) - The Yankees rallied for three runs in the sixth inning of a 4-2 victory over the Bisons on a sunny Tuesday afternoon at Coca-Cola Field. The loss was the Herd's third straight.

Corban Joseph, Eduardo Nunez and Kosuke Fukudome all singled home runs in the sixth for a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre club that has now won six straight and nine of their 11 games. The Yankees lead the Pawtucket Red Sox by 5.5 games for first place in the IL North.

For the second consecutive game, the Bisons raced out to an early 2-0 advantage in the second inning. Matt Tuiasosopo singled home Zach Lutz and Oswaldo Navarro drove a deep fly ball to centerfield for a sacrifice fly.

Brandon Laird cut the lead in half for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with his fourth-inning sacrifice fly. But other than that, Bisons starter Zack Wheeler cruised through his first five innings of work.

Wheeler walked just one batter over the first three frames and didn't allow a hit until Nunez's blooper over first base in the fourth inning. Wheeler retired the side again in order in the fifth inning before running into trouble.

Chris Dickerson led off the sixth inning with a double and Joseph's RBI grounder to right tied the score. Joseph moved to second base on Fred Lewis' throw home, putting him in position to score on Nunez's hit. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's insurance run came two batters later as Fukudome served a Wheeler offering to the opposite field to cash Nunez.

Wheeler suffered the defeat for Buffalo. Only three of the four runs he allowed in his 5.1 innings of work were earned.